Conformation Problems

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Many veterinarians agree that 90% of equine lamenesses originate in the foot. But if it’s not in the foot, there are many other areas where lameness can hide. One area practitioners should examine if a horse is hind-limb lame is where the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) attaches to the hock, suggests Sue Dyson, MA, Vet MB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS, ...

Older horses can be at risk of sustaining an uncommon injury: acute rupture of the proximal (upper) superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) where the cannon bone meets the carpus (knee). This is because as horses age, the SDFT stiffens and becomes less elastic, decreasing its resistance to cyclic loading to the point that it can potentially tear.

Water treadmill workouts are gaining in popularity, especially for rehabilitating injuries. Compared with swimming pool exercises, water treadmill therapy allows the horse to maintain correct posture and gives a handler the ability to control the speed, incline, water height, and resistance of the workout.

Lameness evaluations can be extremely subjective. When examining a horse with a mild lameness, in particular, veterinarians often don’t agree on a diagnosis—some are prone to seeing a more sound horse, others a more lame one. To overcome such disparities, practitioners have turned to objective methods such as force plates and inertial sensor s...

Any rider that's ever hit the ground knows that horseback riding can be unforgiving. But imagine your mount, running just feet in front of another horse, falling out from underneath you at upwards of 30 miles per hour. That's the reality jockeys face on a daily basis.

Tradition in many breeds holds that all horses have the same birthday: January 1. But when it comes to feeding young horses, it might be better to do so according to each horse's individual birth date, a Japanese research team recently concluded.

As one calendar year draws to a close and another begins, many people resolve to take steps to improve their lives. And while the wisdom of some resolutions remains questionable—such as paying off your credit card in full every month … with another credit card—others likely do have a positive impact on peoples' lives.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive deterioration of joint health with no known cure. Not only does OA negatively affect athleticism and quality of life but it is also a major cause of economic loss throughout the equine industry.

While equine surgeons enjoy sharing the mantra “if in doubt, cut it out,” researchers recently reported that when it comes to some osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions, letting nature run its course might be the better option.

Researchers have determined that epistaxis—the most severe form of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in which blood runs from the horse’s nostrils—has a genetic basis. And, according to a group from Australia, a combination of genes as well as exterior influences can lead to epistaxis.

It's not uncommon for an owner of a particularly keen horse to affectionately say he has a “big heart.” But if that animal is a sport horse that completes intense workouts, he might, quite literally, have a huge heart.

When it comes to catastrophic injuries in racehorses, most people immediately think of severe limb fractures. But these athletes sometimes suffer life-threatening fractures beyond the limbs. Lumbar vertebral fractures, for instance, can occur in the loin area near where the rear of the saddle sits.

Foals have seemingly endless energy, darting around their fields, playing with their pasturemates, and recharging with a quick nap and a drink from Mom. But, occasionally, a foal develops a health problem that zaps that energy and leaves him in a collapsed heap, looking sickly and vulnerable. What should you do if this happens to your foal?

When a horse suffers a musculoskeletal injury, the following events typically include a diagnosis, treatment, and return to soundness. To make a full athletic recovery, however, affected horses might benefit from specific forms of rehabilitation that restore function to the back's deep stabilizing muscles.

When it comes to diagnosing a horse's lameness, the veterinarian's eyes are no longer the ultimate diagnostic machine. In fact, in one study (Keegan 2010) only 52% of participating veterinarians agreed on which of a horse's limbs was lame while assessing him visually.

Horses can suffer musculoskeletal pain and injuries anywhere along the axial skeleton that comprises the skull, vertebral column, sternum, and ribs. Bringing these horses back to form post-injury can be difficult and time-consuming, but possible thanks to both time-tested mobilization exercises and cutting-edge physical therapy techniques.

Scientists from the University of Liverpool and Queen Mary University of London, both in England, have examined the mechanisms that cause tendon aging in horses, which could open up the possibility of better treatment for both horses and humans in the future.

With any medication comes a risk of side effects. For instance, long-term phenylbutazone administration to treat a musculoskeletal issue can result in gastrointestinal problems; pergolide to treat Cushing's disease can cause a decreased appetite; and vaccine administration to protect against disease can cause injection site swelling and muscle sorenes...

The next time your equine athlete is on stall rest, don't ask why his barnmates seem so much sounder than him unless you really want to hear the answer: Researchers recently determined that several factors—from the animal's history to your own training and management techniques—appear to make horses more or less likely to miss training...

Bleeding from the nostrils—technically termed epistaxis—has long been recognized as a problem affecting racehorses during or after intense exercise. The underlying cause of the condition, however, remains elusive.

With six bones articulating in close range and multiple tendons and ligaments controlling extension and flexion, the hock, or the horse equivalent of the human ankle, has many moving and shock-absorbing parts. Add to those the animal’s weight and the fact the joint is almost always in flexion, and you’ve got a recipe for a perplexing number of...

When a racehorse breaks down on the track, you're not only faced with the devastating loss of a horse, but also economic loss and, potentially, an injured jockey. One of the most common sites of catastrophic injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses is the fetlock and its surrounding structures.

Bone was once considered an inert material with its structure defined by genetics. But it turns out there’s a lot more at work, explained Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS: “Selective breeding dictates the initial skeleton, but adaptive training in response to exercise modifies it further.” He and other racehorse surgeons are striving ...

Most horse owners appreciate the sight of a well-muscled horse, along with the time and effort riders or trainers must commit to helping that animal fill out. But chances are, fewer owners consider the factors within a horse's body that allow him to build—or lose—muscle mass.

Foals with contracted limbs, which can prevent them from standing or walking normally, often display a variety of other physical abnormalities that veterinarians haven’t directly tied to the contractures. Understanding correlations between these characteristics could help veterinarians build a bank of knowledge to help guide treatment down the most ...

Get out your protractors: New research shows that the various angles of the outer and inner hoof are directly linked to various kinds of lameness, and knowing the angles could help determine which kind of lameness a horse has or is likely to get.

A recent study carried out by a team of equine orthopedic researchers at the University of Guelph Comparative Orthopedic Research Laboratory took a closer look at post-traumatic osteoarthritis in horses. Specifically, the team evaluated whether or not single impact injury to the fetlock could progress to post-traumatic osteoarthritis or osteochondral dise...

From the start of his career to the end, an upper-level equine athlete is constantly exposed to stressors that could negatively impact his health, including strenuous exercise and long-distance travel. But starting even before you purchase your next sport horse, there are steps you can start taking to ensure he has a long and healthy career.

A horse's athletic success depends on the health of his joints, and veterinarians are continually studying up on how best to maintain athletic joints and manage injury. During a presentation at the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas, Larry Bramlage DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, an equine surgeon ...

When owners think of potentially or ultimately fatal horse health conditions, colic, laminitis, or rabies are some common ailments that might come to mind. A less common eventually fatal condition is bone fragility syndrome (BFS). There's no known cause or cure, and researchers are just working to understand the debilitating disorder. Recently, a rese...